April 27, 2025 • 34 mins
Hoosier comedian Brent Terhune finds the inspiration behind his viral MAGA character.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I'm John Cipher and I'm Jerry O'Shea. I was a
CIA officer stationed around the world in high threat posts
in Europe, Russia, and in Asia.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
And I served in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East
and in war zones. We sometimes created conspiracies to deceive
our adversaries.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Now we're going to use our expertise to deconstruct conspiracy
theories large and small. Could they be true?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Or are we being manipulated?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
This is mission implausible. So today's guest is Brent Turhun.
He's a comedian and podcaster. Some people know him as
the right wing redneck on Facebook and social media, and
Brett I'm a big fan. So it's really great to
have you on.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Thanks guys. It's good to actually meet two of the
guys responsible for killing JFK. So it's just an honor
to talk to you free for decades.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
It takes something me.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Hey, guys, at four, you're already well trained, so it's
good to Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Guys, Hey, can you tell just a little bit about
your background and how did you come up with this
character that's becomes so popular.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Yeah, it's I'm a stand up comedian and I've been
doing that for I almost like nineteen years. And then
I started doing these videos pre COVID, and it's a
guy that's rants in his truck. So there's no shortage
of people that go and sit in their car after
they just got booted from whatever business they were causing
(01:24):
a scene in and then they go and record these videos.
So I do that.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So I'd just seen on everywhere but Fox News they're
saying Trump is messing up the economy.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
That's a blatant lion.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
You know, you idiots are just playing checkers while he's
playing double D chess. He knows some stuff about things.
I don't even care about my four oh one K. Hell,
I could barely finish a five K. What do I
need all them ks for?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Huh?
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I don't care if we going to a great depression?
What do you think Zoloft is for? Just sprinkling the
water like they do the fluor ride. Please just give
me a truck that looks like Lord Croft's titties. Please
just own the libs, because in this economy, that's all
I can afford to own.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
People always ask me what the name of the character is,
and I never expected the character to be anything so
I guess I've called him alpha male because he's the
quintessential alpha male. And you guys can see me on
the camera here, I'm the peak physical specimen, so as
most of those people are that record those videos. But
it's a lot of reacting to social stuff or political stuff,
(02:32):
big headlines, and then of course I have my take
and I'm a I love maga and can't they can
do no wrong. I'm a my president still your president,
Donald J. Trump type guy.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Yeah, I'm a proud boy, and I got the tattoo
to prove it.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
But Trump said to stand by.
Speaker 5 (02:51):
I nearly creamed my genes, which I'm not allowed to do.
We're like a fight club that talks about fight club
all the top.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Like we've rebranded. You know this ain't your daddy's KKK.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
It's pretty hard to fight Antifa is when you're wearing
a robe and a hood and that's the only mask
I'm gonna wear, by the way.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
And what kind of beer do you drink when you
have thers have a beer in hand?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Right?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It used to be bud Light, guys, but then it couldn't.
It's a it's an emotional support beer, which it's a
I have a kouzi and people are like, man, you,
I bet you love that Trump is back in office,
and I'm like, nope, But I always have an emotional
support beer to raise to whoever we're currently boycotting. I
(03:38):
also have some stuff they brought back layaway, so I
put some eggason layway, so hopefully they're still good by
the time I'm able to pay them off.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So you're a hoosier. I've always wanted to ask somebody
from Indiana.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
I don't know what it is. I don't know what
a hoosier? Is that your question?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
That's not my question?
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I told myself what is.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
The difference between Indiana sports fan puppy?
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Oh, I don't know. Why don't you tell me.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Puppies eventually grew up and stop whining.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah, I thought you were going to say something about
dribbling or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I used to live in Chicago and Indiana course is
where we got all our legal guns. So that's you
guys are really important part of it.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
We do have a two gun minimum to even be
in the state.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So so I have a question for you. Yeah, yeah,
but the proud boys, what are they proud of? What's
the pride thing that they have that I don't see.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Probably stuff that they didn't control in the first place,
was their whiteness and their being a male, stuff that
they didn't even choose. But I don't know what they
had to be proud of, because a lot of them
will cover their face, and of course you usually cover
your face when you're very proud of things, right.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
So what is it about politics that lends itself to humor? Like,
how did you get into this character? How did you
decide that this was the thing that you were going
to go with.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Yeah, I'm and I'm still to not like a very
political person. The character I do is very overtly political.
But I just was watching. The impetus of the character
was people burning nikes in their backyards. Of course, you
know Colin Kaepernecks taking a knee, So then they're gonna
burn all their stuff that they've already paid for, and
(05:20):
rather than donate to somebody, they want to film a
video and then also go watch the game on Sunday anyway,
you know, like that's hypocritical to the bone. So that
was the impetus of the character. And then I did
two more videos, and then I realized this is refillable.
There's no lack of things to talk about. There's no
(05:42):
shortage of hypocrisy and politics. And also, I think in
comedy you gotta punch up. You know, you can make
jokes about a homeless guy, and sure it's funny if
you think that's funny, but that guy is also the
lowest rung of society with rich people and political people.
I don't really feel bad about making fun of a
(06:04):
guy that could lose forty billion and still be richer
than everybody. So the other one, more recently, was like,
I drove Trump's garbage truck because there was a guy
that looked that we're doppel gingers. I even showed my
wife and she goes, is that you. I'm like, no,
clearly it's not me. But there's no lack of people
that look like me. We're all on Storm the Capitol
(06:25):
magazine coming up here soon the cover. But I gotta
say it was an honor and a privilege to drive
garbage force one. President Trump is just a normal everyday guy.
He hopped in no problem. He said, how about we
take this bad boy through McDonald's And I said, sir,
I don't think she'll fit in the drive through. He said,
(06:46):
it's all right. I used to work there.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
So Brent, how would the listeners of this, you know,
not being on video, how will they know it's really
you and not like say the editor of The Atlantic.
There's a guy Benny Thompson who's being paid by the
Russians or was paid by the Russians, and he's come
up with the conspiracy theory that he spawn as a
conspiracy and it was that putting Jeff Goldberg on the
(07:09):
chat is five dimensional chess. They knew this would happen,
and they were so basically like it was meant you're
all taken in and the other like other competing ones,
and I do mix them up. My right wing influencers
is no, this is a deep state trick. This is
John and I pulling the wool over the eyes of
(07:30):
the senior most folks in the US. Covers two completely
contradictory explanations for what happened. And this is what we
struggle with is the the psychology of it, which you
I think you touch on in your and dig deeply
into in your broadcast, the psychology of people who want
to believe.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
This stuff you've done a bunch of episodes of this
show and then have worked in the CIA forever. What
is it that attracts people to conspiracies like a moth
to the flame?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Because in my head, part of it is it's the
community aspect. It's very much like church. You may not
even buy into the thing necessarily, but you want to
be around people. They're documentaries like The Beyond the Curve
or whatever, the Flat Earth one where these people have
alienated themselves from their family, literally been cut off, and
(08:20):
now they have no choice but to hang out with
the flat Earth people. Is that something that you guys
have delved into the community aspect of it.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, for sure. We talked to a couple of people
who are real experts on conspiracy theories. Yeah, we're playing
at it and there's a variety of things. Is the
community piece of it. There's the just human desire to
pretend like you're in the know, so when you're a
group of people you can say, oh, here's what's really
happening and get attention. There's a variety of things that
are very human because conspiracy theories it's not just politics,
(08:50):
and it's not just in America. We've seen it around
the world too. It's just it's a way of simplifying
your world. And you can take this deeper and can
go down to religion and number of things where something
is really complex and maybe even can't be explained. You've
got to create a pattern, create an explanation, and so
conspiracy is just a far end of that process.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
And it's the thing of terrible things just couldn't happen.
There has to be a guy pulling the strings, because
for me to acknowledge that mass death happens regularly and
not just as manufactured, my mind might blow up if
I just acknowledge the truth.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
The three of us, I think, are kind of sort
of in the same club for conspiracy theorists. The two
real enemies are a people who deal in facts and logic,
and as former agency guys, that's you know, we were
all about facts, and the other one is being made
fun of that punctures that puncture. So I'm a history major,
(09:51):
and one of the things that dictators fear are comedians.
Hitler crack down on community. It's really dangerous to be
a comedian in authoritarian government, and it gets the more
dangerous it gets, So.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
You're fucked in other words. Yeah, One of the things
that is really interesting about and maybe even the first
time I saw you, is that you clearly it takes
a while to realize it's satire, right the first time,
that there's so much stuff that is very similar to
what you're doing by people who really believe this stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And so every time you do one of these, a
number of the people who comment or attack you like
you're AMaGA person. So do you get attacked by people
who misunderstand or do people eventually get it?
Speaker 3 (10:29):
I do get both. And the thing is, it depends
on what tone I've tried to strike with the videos,
the garbage truck one and the one where the boat sings.
I try to, like I said, no, have no clear indicator.
But I've said things like I digest and I said,
let me get a I don't know what it was
in the Eating Animals one. Let me get a rent
and stimpy omelet or whatever I said. What person says that?
(10:51):
But also I'm pairting things that are already ten out
of ten crazy. It's even the guys from South Park.
They would do a Trump parody and change their character
mister Garrison into Trump, and then he would they whatever
he would say on the show, and then a week
later he would just say things that were crazier. So
(11:11):
how do you parody clown shoes? They're already big? So
do you go bigger?
Speaker 1 (11:17):
You know, like.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
I'm starting in a ten yelling so I look like
everything else. But then if you just listen, which is
a big ask on the internet, you might. But then
the worst thing is people will watch the whole thing
and quote back things to me in the comments and
still not understand. So I've gotten people that like their uncle,
their right wing uncle will be he shares all the
(11:39):
videos and it's not critical, he's like sending it to
me and that he likes it. I get that all
the time. And then I also get the left leaning people.
They watch thirty seconds of a video and then they're
quick to call me whatever. And I love a good roast.
So if you roast me creatively, yes, But if you're
like you're fat, we all know that I can see me,
(12:01):
you know, like I get those two and I you know,
I get a lot of hate messages depending on the
topic too, and sometimes rightfully so. But I a big
thing that I've learned is, man, if you're going to
comment on something on the internet, at least watch it
till the end. And you know, if I did a
ten minute video, it's on you to also watch all
(12:23):
ten minutes of it. You know, let's take a break.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Hey, I'm a federal employee. This is week two. Of
the five things I did last week. Number one, I
used Clippy to help write my manifesto. Number two, I
got severed because I keep work at work. Number three
I microwave fish in the break room. Number four, I
enforced the dress code. I said, why aren't you wearing
a suit? And he was like, I'm the janitor. And
I said, well, you need to thank me because I'm
out here making all these messes causing your jobs to security.
(13:00):
And if you're so smart goodwill hunting, why don't you
figure out why the break room is always thinking so bad?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I do want to ask your sort of humor lends
itself to a coastal thing. And yet you were you
were in Indiana where there are a lot of people.
It's mega country. That's just where I come from, this
mega country too, right, Yes, I go up there, And
what's it like being in Indiana? Must be like? Really
great and really weird all at the same time.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
I think about that too with other states too, because
as soon as you turn the election map on Indiana
turns red, it just turns red. But then there are
other people that are like me. So it's just because
fifty one percent of the state voted one way. And
then I when I go on the road and do
stand up, I have people come out and it'll be
(13:45):
in a Kentucky or in Iowa or the reddest of
red Arkansas, and I get people that come to see
me because they are like me in that state. It's
just because fifty one per the percent of the people
voted that there's other people, and it's always weird. When
you hear artists like I'm not going to that state
till so and so wins the election. I'm like, yeah,
(14:07):
that's your definitely your right. But also there are other
people that are like you that would enjoy what you do.
So people that are creators and stuff, I'm like, just
don't give up because there are people like that. And
I think videos like mine, I at least think help
people not feel alone because it's you can see all
day every day of the things you just said. Jerry
(14:29):
of Oh, they spun it two ways of the signal thing,
and they'll make you feel one way or the other.
But then once you see somebody else, I think talk rationally,
you're like, oh, there are people like me. And I
get people all the time that say you got me
through COVID or whatever, and I help me get through
COVID and likewise because we could laugh or cry about things,
you know. So to answer your question about what it's
(14:51):
like to live in Indiana, and I'm on the road
every week in different states, Indiana is everywhere like leading
up to the election, and I was like, man, there
are so many Trump flags everywhere and places you wouldn't
even imagine would be there, and especially one of my
(15:11):
favorite was in Pennsylvania where somebody had just took their
twenty twenty flag and added a four at the end
of it. I love that kind of stuff. But it's
just a blue dot in a red state. And there's
no shortage of guys with the biggest trucks imaginable with
the flags. And I don't know how it's not against
the law to be that flagged up and just in
(15:34):
the view of everybody. But even in Saint Louis, there was.
I took a picture of it the back somebody's tailgate
of their truck. When when Joe Brandon stole the election
and it was Joe Biden tied up in the back
of the truck with a gag like that was in
Saint Louis, and I'm like, God, it's like when you
(15:56):
see a car with a bunch of weed stickers on it,
You're like, you're just kind of asking for some kind
of trouble, and you also don't care. You're proud of that.
You spent like one thousand dollars to get that on
the back of your truck. So it's everywhere, and we
saw it in this past election when so many states
were flipped.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, it's true. I really frustrating when you see online
someone says saying we should let Texas leave this country.
There's a lot of people in Texas. There's sensible, nice,
normal that don't write off other Americans. Patriotism is like
loving your country even if you really dislike your government.
You know, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Most of those folks are like really nice, Right, you
move in, They'll bring your cookies. I don't want to
filify forty percent of the population. Most of these people
are like really nice, but there's something there that is ugly.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
There's a reason that the guy's president again, and it's
whether he was the president or not. That stuff still
exists that doesn't change hearts and minds. So that's the
real thing of seeing all the January sixth stuff and
everything that's transpired to the last eight years, and you're like, God,
you still don't care. And at a certain point you're like,
(17:05):
I just did it for the economy, okay, but there's
more at stake there than money. So well, yeah, I'm
a stand up comedian. What do you think my change
jar over there in the corner is I've had to
do laundry a few times, so it's not doing well.
(17:26):
But it's not surprising, but it is, and it's to
write off a whole the whole state of somewhere is.
But also at the same time, I'm like, I get it.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
I get it. It's frustration. So what is the real
brentter you? What's your non political comedy?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Like, yeah, behind me on the video. I know there's
an audio platform, but I love horror movies. I do
a horror movie podcast and it's a niche thing. But
then Also it's like controlling. What is scary if I
know it's a movie, like a horror movie. To me,
is the news that's real and exists. So I do
(18:02):
the that podcast called the They're Coming to Get You
and you to remember it. It's like They're coming to
get you Barbara from a Night of the Living Dead.
And then the other I do another podcast called The
Field Trip. It's topic based. I call it like pop
culture Pope wri So every episode is different, and I've
done my assassinations and I chose three of that. I'm
(18:23):
probably you guys haven't covered, not the.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Big ones, the two of them.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
But I'm just saying, yeah, if you did Julius Caesar,
I'm impressed. E two John, it's top. It's famous last words,
famous last meals. I just did one on a sideshow performers.
But that's the kind of stuff is. I do my
research and then I talk about it with a guest.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
More of this after a quick break. So this is implausible,
and we do theories and conspiracies, and you're you've got
us now, so give us either a your favorite conspiracy.
(19:09):
You can ask us what's the yeah you want to
know about our conspiracies, the CIA ones.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
I have the one that I'm to talk about, but
one that I also want to bring up to you
guys because I was scrolling through your archive on the podcast.
Have you guys even talked about the Donald Trump assassination attempt?
Because seeing my friends online the let more left people
for years it was oh, you guys are nothing but
(19:34):
saying to the right, you guys are nothing but conspiracy theorists.
And as soon as that happened, man did this the
flip the switch flip of oh it was a fake,
it was an inside job or whatever. So do you
guys have thoughts on all that, because I'm interested to
hear your take on what that was.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
That's a great topic and we should do it because
you're exactly right. Immediately, people on the left did exactly
what they complained to the people and the right to and
we didn't do it because, and I think I speak
for Jerry is immediately, I would never suggest that was
fake to try to I mean, to try to hit
someone in the ear far away, even the simplest of things,
(20:11):
like it's almost impossible. The one thing about having worked
in CIA, and we talk about this on the podcast
and having been involved in trying to maybe fool the
other side or create conspiracies, if you will, however you
wanted to find is we realized just how hard it is.
There's so many moving parts in everything that happens in
the world, and to control that is crazy. You might
(20:33):
be able to control one or two factors, and if
you simplify it enough, you can maybe fool somebody on something,
but the notion that you could do this incredibly complex
thing that all holds together and nobody ever talks is
just insane. So immediately when people said that, it's just like,
there's no this is ridiculous. There's just.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
We're really good at assassination. A great track. I could
look at Don Castro right, you know, I was like, uh,
that's right, and of course we got that took us
ten years. The real world is complicated. And for anybody
who's ever and I grew up around firearms, I hate guns.
But I'll tell you anybody who's ever dealt with a weapon,
if they're talking about, yeah, I'm gonna put a bullet
(21:13):
right by your ear, that sounds like people went to
high school with you. Put a beer can on your
head and put it'll be a big beer can and
I'll take my ear right. Don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Just yesterday, guys, I listened to JFK episode and the
guy was like, Oh, that was an easy shot. He
could have done it. So what is it, Guys?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I need answers when you're on the inside, when you're
not in government, we're not part of the deep state.
You We do deal often, John and I did when
we were seniors in the agency with senior political guys.
And you know what, there's messed up and silly and
foolish as anybody else. If somebody thinks there's like this
special level of competence in any white house, like they
(21:55):
are no different than the rest of us, and they
fuck up and hold.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
On now, hold on, I'm going to take this the
next step. Okay, we just saw the screenshots of them.
They were knocking down apartment buildings to kill terrorists and
admitted that they killed people in the apartment. Jerry, you
and I were involved in lethal efforts to go after
a specific terrorists, and you saw the amount of work
to make sure you're the right person, one person that
(22:19):
no one else was hit. And when that's done, it's
done with such seriousness. There is no that communications line,
there's no joking. It's all very careful. To see these
guys like towel snapping each other and doing emojis and
fist bumps. That is just inappropriate for any national security person.
These guys are first of all, they're all unfit. They
(22:41):
shouldn't be inop positions for the first place. But if
you're going to do national security, you need to take
it seriously. I found that incredibly distasteful, and then lying
about it. They were cutting and pasting from clearly something
that was classified and then telling us that it was
all not classified. So it really so. Yes, I've seen
serious pep and serious positions not be as impressive as
(23:02):
you think, but this to me was really beyond the pass.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
This is a league of its own, and this is serious.
But I really want to underline this to anybody. Listen,
Like I was in a rock back when Isis took
over and we were struggling to keeping keeping Isis from
taking over the country and introducing slavery again and introducing
rape is being legal. These are like really bad guys. Yeah,
And when there was I just say carefully, I say this,
(23:28):
when there was a strike that killed a senior isis guy.
You know where I was, there was a standing rule.
There's no cheers. Like what we have done was not good.
It was just less bad because it was about saving lives.
That's what you should be focused on, never taking. That's
(23:50):
what separates us from them, is right. We take no
one of the jures anyway, you take that. Yeah, no pleasure,
no joy even in that. It's this is because the
problem is if we don't, other innocent people will die.
It is a serious, terrible sort of decision making for
curR And yeah, you're right, John. The high fiving and
(24:11):
cheering is inhuman in a lot of words, in many ways.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Yeah, it's guys, you're just not fun. Can we decide
to go to a better question? See it's not entertain.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
We'll try again, try again.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Your answers were good, but it's not what people want
to hear of. Now. The other one that I've enjoyed
watching and enjoy is the wrong word, but it's been
the whole Quanon thing because I could see the same
stuff I think that they were seeing. I can go
on the four Chans and the eight Chans and the
(24:49):
whatever chans and see the posts and then also, just
a neighborhood over from me, I could ride my bike past.
The house had QAnon pillows on the porch and then
the QAnon flags. The whole porch was QAnon. Now it's not.
(25:10):
Now it's just American flags. So thank god for that, guys.
But it's I've seen the I would, oh, I should
find I'm gonna get this free and show you guys.
These were on telephone poles. I just thought of this.
These were from info Wars. These signs it says.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Collapse is coming, prepare yourself and that.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
So you see the info Wars that was on a
telephone pole by my house. This is laminated to last,
and then this one the mass do nothing. They are
for control the Info Wars logo at the top right
there too. I saw some I saw these are my neighbors,
somewhere in the vicinity of where I live. And I
(26:00):
love conspiracy theory stuff so much. I pulled the car
over to take these down. These exist in.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
My What control does asking you wear a mask gets you?
I don't quite get.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
It, I know, but yeah, that's like my big thing
with not necessarily Quanon, but like the flat Earth or
the fake the moon landing and all this, Like, if
all that is fake, My my question is to what
end to show that the government lies to you? And I, yeah,
the government does lie to us. You guys worked for
the government, and I think you would probably agree that
(26:33):
there are lies that have been told. So that's that
we all know that. So my thing is after the
control and lie thing. Is it just money? Who's selling
a lot of flat globes? Or like round? Is there
a guy with a warehouse full of globes? Like, as
soon as we get rid of all these and I'll
just tell them it's flat. Like to what end are
(26:53):
some of these conspiracies? Is the moon landing was fake? Okay,
let's say it was? Or if we found out who
actually did it, what are we going to do about it? Now?
You can't. We all know we're being lied to. But
at a certain point there are people starving and dying
right now. I just don't know what end a lot
(27:13):
of this stuff has.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
It's all a lot of times it's just about people themselves.
They want attention. The world just needs to be centered
around them and what they feel, their feelings. You're right,
I can at least understand if you do a conspiracy
to make money. It feels like it's gross and disgusting,
but at least it seems to have some logical consistency.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Fox and News makes they sell beers, snow tires, ed medicine.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
I got, We sell that on our podcast, So I'm
pretty confident that that's to go past those But.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
What the ED stuff, guys, just hold on, talk to
me about the ED stuff for quick for a friend, right, yes,
but you can see, like Alex Jones will say the
water's dirty and then also flip and be like, we've
got the water purefire. They're telling you that they're selling
you the cure of the thing that they just made
up and maybe it is a real problem. But they're
(28:02):
also selling you the super Ginka Boloba max pure that
will fix your ED. It works. By the way, just
so you guys know the.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Human brain as it evolved over the last five thousand years,
because it's that's how But yeah, but the amygdala at
the base of it, the reptilian part, is still really powerful.
It's the fight or flight, it's the fear thing, right,
And it wasn't until later that we got higher functions,
and so yeah, tapping into the amygdala response inside of
human beings is always something you can make people afraid.
(28:35):
Dictators have always done it, right. I mean, Hitler makes
people afraid of the Jews, afraid of the Bolsheviks, and
you got to make people afraid, and if you do
that gives you a political control the even our own country.
Hearst right. The Hearst Press started the Spanish American War
with supposedly the main song, which was Spanish why the
Spanish would sink the US's main and Havana Harbor. I
(28:56):
don't know. So angertainment can be monetized and it's a
that's a good word, political control, and we are biologically
programmed to have because surviving is you hear Russell in
the bushes? Do you go gee, I'm going to stand
here and figure it out and see whether it's a
sabertooth tigers. No, you run, because even if you're wrong,
like you're still alive. It's a powerful force.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
So what about QAN nine do you guys have to
say about that? I'm not up on my message boards currently,
but it seems like they were like just wait and
then nothing, you know, like right.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Well, Nancy Pelosi of course is going to stay forever
young and beautiful, because she's killing young children to get
their adrenal glands. I don't know if people should get
on there and take a look at what no offense Nancy.
But what Nancy looks like now, it's like the adrenaline
it's not working. She looks like an old lady. Right.
I mean, yeah, I'm using it. I'm clearly you're still
(29:52):
young and handsome business.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
I'm actually eighty seven.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
But the other one, of course, is CIA and Ands
and I keep waiting, like, let's okay, Trump's president. Now
you've got to own these conspiracy theories. Right, he's Trump's
gonna come in. He's going to expose the ped of files.
He's gonna show us the aliens, the JFK stuff. Maybe
not the Epstein files. Maybe they may stay under lock
and key.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
But if you've seen recently, it's the Fort Knox thing.
He's actually feeling. He's still a TV dude. He said,
we're gonna we don't know if it's there, We're gonna
go down there and show it. Like you're the president.
I say, you can send somebody there. You could be there.
You can answer this in two seconds. He said, you're
going to play it up like.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
It's with aliens. Is very interesting because Trey Crowder on
his episode said, yeah, he believes in mathematically, I think
it's to rule it out to say no is dumb.
But also then you talk about are we talking about
micro organisms? Is that an alien? Are we talking about
guys that fly the spaceships? That's the I think there are.
(30:50):
To say there's no other life in anywhere is short sighted,
But aliens are fun to me. All of this stuff
that we've talked about is is fun as whether you
subscribe to it you know, and how much of you
know if you.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Have to tear it with you arm yourself because of it.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
Yeah, like when you find out that it's wrong, if
you have to take off more than a bumper sticker,
then maybe you've gone into deep with it. Like, all
of it is fun and it's entertaining. And that's why
I've always loved conspiracy theories because they're kind of.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Scary conspiracies because it's entertaining or interesting, or you're asking
questions like could there be aliens? Let's take this to
see how far it goes? What could it be? What
can is different from weaponizing or getting financial benefit out
of conspiracy theories. And what I think your humor hits
on a lot of times is with the political class
(31:44):
using this stuff to get people angry, to spin people up,
to get people out to vote. And a lot of
this was in twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen with Cambridge Analytical.
They actually work specifically, this is Bannon and his company
works specifically to use Facebook data to find people who
who never voted. The people who were just were the
angry people, and they spun it up and created such
(32:06):
anger to actually get them off their couches to go vote.
And they essentially created a class of very angry, very
right wing people that now is called the base, and
some of them, it's a small enough segment that it
helps on elections, right one or two percent of crazy people.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
That's got a difference, though anymore, I want.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
You to see it now, like when you get to
the point where you will use conspiracies knowing that someone's
going to get hurt, knowing that someone's going to attack
the capital, knowing they're going to that's to me, that's
a whole different thing.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
I had a friend and we were coming back from
a comedy festival and he's wearing the badge, and the
gas station tenant was like, oh, what is that for,
andings that we've just had a comedy festival, and the
guy literally said, oh, comedy's not been funny since Trump won,
which means all the Trump jokes, he doesn't care for it.
It's you could. I think you should. Like I said
at the beginning, we should be punching up no matter
(32:56):
who is in charge, because they are in charge and
we are not, so they are more open to scrutiny.
And also it's more fun to laugh. Who doesn't want
to laugh? It makes you feel better and it makes
you It makes us. We have more in common than
we have not and it shows that we are not alone.
There's truth and humor, So when you laugh at something,
(33:18):
you are admitting that there's truth to what I just said.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Oh, Bret, thank you so much for taking the time
with us and being on with us.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
And you're great. It's really been fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Well, we'll continue to follow you, and I would encourage
anybody listening to us to follow Brent to human on
all sorts of social media.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Yeah, thank you, guys.
Speaker 6 (33:34):
Mission Implausible is produced by Adam Davidson Jerry O'shay, John Cipher,
and Jonathan Stern. The associate producer is Rachel Harner. Mission implausible.
It's a production of honorable mention and abominable pictures for
iHeart podcasts
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Oh
I'm John Cipher and I'm Jerry O'Shea. I was a
CIA officer stationed around the world in high threat posts
in Europe, Russia, and in Asia.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
And I served in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East
and in war zones. We sometimes created conspiracies to deceive
our adversaries.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Now we're going to use our expertise to deconstruct conspiracy
theories large and small. Could they be true?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Or are we being manipulated?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
This is mission implausible. So today's guest is Brent Turhun.
He's a comedian and podcaster. Some people know him as
the right wing redneck on Facebook and social media, and
Brett I'm a big fan. So it's really great to
have you on.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Thanks guys. It's good to actually meet two of the
guys responsible for killing JFK. So it's just an honor
to talk to you free for decades.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
It takes something me.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Hey, guys, at four, you're already well trained, so it's
good to Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Guys, Hey, can you tell just a little bit about
your background and how did you come up with this
character that's becomes so popular.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Yeah, it's I'm a stand up comedian and I've been
doing that for I almost like nineteen years. And then
I started doing these videos pre COVID, and it's a
guy that's rants in his truck. So there's no shortage
of people that go and sit in their car after
they just got booted from whatever business they were causing
(01:24):
a scene in and then they go and record these videos.
So I do that.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So I'd just seen on everywhere but Fox News they're
saying Trump is messing up the economy.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
That's a blatant lion.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
You know, you idiots are just playing checkers while he's
playing double D chess. He knows some stuff about things.
I don't even care about my four oh one K. Hell,
I could barely finish a five K. What do I
need all them ks for?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Huh?
Speaker 4 (01:53):
I don't care if we going to a great depression?
What do you think Zoloft is for? Just sprinkling the
water like they do the fluor ride. Please just give
me a truck that looks like Lord Croft's titties. Please
just own the libs, because in this economy, that's all
I can afford to own.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
People always ask me what the name of the character is,
and I never expected the character to be anything so
I guess I've called him alpha male because he's the
quintessential alpha male. And you guys can see me on
the camera here, I'm the peak physical specimen, so as
most of those people are that record those videos. But
it's a lot of reacting to social stuff or political stuff,
(02:32):
big headlines, and then of course I have my take
and I'm a I love maga and can't they can
do no wrong. I'm a my president still your president,
Donald J. Trump type guy.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
Yeah, I'm a proud boy, and I got the tattoo
to prove it.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
But Trump said to stand by.
Speaker 5 (02:51):
I nearly creamed my genes, which I'm not allowed to do.
We're like a fight club that talks about fight club
all the top.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Like we've rebranded. You know this ain't your daddy's KKK.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
It's pretty hard to fight Antifa is when you're wearing
a robe and a hood and that's the only mask
I'm gonna wear, by the way.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
And what kind of beer do you drink when you
have thers have a beer in hand?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Right?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
It used to be bud Light, guys, but then it couldn't.
It's a it's an emotional support beer, which it's a
I have a kouzi and people are like, man, you,
I bet you love that Trump is back in office,
and I'm like, nope, But I always have an emotional
support beer to raise to whoever we're currently boycotting. I
(03:38):
also have some stuff they brought back layaway, so I
put some eggason layway, so hopefully they're still good by
the time I'm able to pay them off.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
So you're a hoosier. I've always wanted to ask somebody
from Indiana.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
I don't know what it is. I don't know what
a hoosier? Is that your question?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
That's not my question?
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I told myself what is.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
The difference between Indiana sports fan puppy?
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Oh, I don't know. Why don't you tell me.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Puppies eventually grew up and stop whining.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah, I thought you were going to say something about
dribbling or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I used to live in Chicago and Indiana course is
where we got all our legal guns. So that's you
guys are really important part of it.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
We do have a two gun minimum to even be
in the state.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
So so I have a question for you. Yeah, yeah,
but the proud boys, what are they proud of? What's
the pride thing that they have that I don't see.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Probably stuff that they didn't control in the first place,
was their whiteness and their being a male, stuff that
they didn't even choose. But I don't know what they
had to be proud of, because a lot of them
will cover their face, and of course you usually cover
your face when you're very proud of things, right.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
So what is it about politics that lends itself to humor? Like,
how did you get into this character? How did you
decide that this was the thing that you were going
to go with.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Yeah, I'm and I'm still to not like a very
political person. The character I do is very overtly political.
But I just was watching. The impetus of the character
was people burning nikes in their backyards. Of course, you
know Colin Kaepernecks taking a knee, So then they're gonna
burn all their stuff that they've already paid for, and
(05:20):
rather than donate to somebody, they want to film a
video and then also go watch the game on Sunday anyway,
you know, like that's hypocritical to the bone. So that
was the impetus of the character. And then I did
two more videos, and then I realized this is refillable.
There's no lack of things to talk about. There's no
(05:42):
shortage of hypocrisy and politics. And also, I think in
comedy you gotta punch up. You know, you can make
jokes about a homeless guy, and sure it's funny if
you think that's funny, but that guy is also the
lowest rung of society with rich people and political people.
I don't really feel bad about making fun of a
(06:04):
guy that could lose forty billion and still be richer
than everybody. So the other one, more recently, was like,
I drove Trump's garbage truck because there was a guy
that looked that we're doppel gingers. I even showed my
wife and she goes, is that you. I'm like, no,
clearly it's not me. But there's no lack of people
that look like me. We're all on Storm the Capitol
(06:25):
magazine coming up here soon the cover. But I gotta
say it was an honor and a privilege to drive
garbage force one. President Trump is just a normal everyday guy.
He hopped in no problem. He said, how about we
take this bad boy through McDonald's And I said, sir,
I don't think she'll fit in the drive through. He said,
(06:46):
it's all right. I used to work there.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
So Brent, how would the listeners of this, you know,
not being on video, how will they know it's really
you and not like say the editor of The Atlantic.
There's a guy Benny Thompson who's being paid by the
Russians or was paid by the Russians, and he's come
up with the conspiracy theory that he spawn as a
conspiracy and it was that putting Jeff Goldberg on the
(07:09):
chat is five dimensional chess. They knew this would happen,
and they were so basically like it was meant you're
all taken in and the other like other competing ones,
and I do mix them up. My right wing influencers
is no, this is a deep state trick. This is
John and I pulling the wool over the eyes of
(07:30):
the senior most folks in the US. Covers two completely
contradictory explanations for what happened. And this is what we
struggle with is the the psychology of it, which you
I think you touch on in your and dig deeply
into in your broadcast, the psychology of people who want
to believe.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
This stuff you've done a bunch of episodes of this
show and then have worked in the CIA forever. What
is it that attracts people to conspiracies like a moth
to the flame?
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Because in my head, part of it is it's the
community aspect. It's very much like church. You may not
even buy into the thing necessarily, but you want to
be around people. They're documentaries like The Beyond the Curve
or whatever, the Flat Earth one where these people have
alienated themselves from their family, literally been cut off, and
(08:20):
now they have no choice but to hang out with
the flat Earth people. Is that something that you guys
have delved into the community aspect of it.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, for sure. We talked to a couple of people
who are real experts on conspiracy theories. Yeah, we're playing
at it and there's a variety of things. Is the
community piece of it. There's the just human desire to
pretend like you're in the know, so when you're a
group of people you can say, oh, here's what's really
happening and get attention. There's a variety of things that
are very human because conspiracy theories it's not just politics,
(08:50):
and it's not just in America. We've seen it around
the world too. It's just it's a way of simplifying
your world. And you can take this deeper and can
go down to religion and number of things where something
is really complex and maybe even can't be explained. You've
got to create a pattern, create an explanation, and so
conspiracy is just a far end of that process.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
And it's the thing of terrible things just couldn't happen.
There has to be a guy pulling the strings, because
for me to acknowledge that mass death happens regularly and
not just as manufactured, my mind might blow up if
I just acknowledge the truth.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
The three of us, I think, are kind of sort
of in the same club for conspiracy theorists. The two
real enemies are a people who deal in facts and logic,
and as former agency guys, that's you know, we were
all about facts, and the other one is being made
fun of that punctures that puncture. So I'm a history major,
(09:51):
and one of the things that dictators fear are comedians.
Hitler crack down on community. It's really dangerous to be
a comedian in authoritarian government, and it gets the more
dangerous it gets, So.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
You're fucked in other words. Yeah, One of the things
that is really interesting about and maybe even the first
time I saw you, is that you clearly it takes
a while to realize it's satire, right the first time,
that there's so much stuff that is very similar to
what you're doing by people who really believe this stuff.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And so every time you do one of these, a
number of the people who comment or attack you like
you're AMaGA person. So do you get attacked by people
who misunderstand or do people eventually get it?
Speaker 3 (10:29):
I do get both. And the thing is, it depends
on what tone I've tried to strike with the videos,
the garbage truck one and the one where the boat sings.
I try to, like I said, no, have no clear indicator.
But I've said things like I digest and I said,
let me get a I don't know what it was
in the Eating Animals one. Let me get a rent
and stimpy omelet or whatever I said. What person says that?
(10:51):
But also I'm pairting things that are already ten out
of ten crazy. It's even the guys from South Park.
They would do a Trump parody and change their character
mister Garrison into Trump, and then he would they whatever
he would say on the show, and then a week
later he would just say things that were crazier. So
(11:11):
how do you parody clown shoes? They're already big? So
do you go bigger?
Speaker 1 (11:17):
You know, like.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
I'm starting in a ten yelling so I look like
everything else. But then if you just listen, which is
a big ask on the internet, you might. But then
the worst thing is people will watch the whole thing
and quote back things to me in the comments and
still not understand. So I've gotten people that like their uncle,
their right wing uncle will be he shares all the
(11:39):
videos and it's not critical, he's like sending it to
me and that he likes it. I get that all
the time. And then I also get the left leaning people.
They watch thirty seconds of a video and then they're
quick to call me whatever. And I love a good roast.
So if you roast me creatively, yes, But if you're
like you're fat, we all know that I can see me,
(12:01):
you know, like I get those two and I you know,
I get a lot of hate messages depending on the
topic too, and sometimes rightfully so. But I a big
thing that I've learned is, man, if you're going to
comment on something on the internet, at least watch it
till the end. And you know, if I did a
ten minute video, it's on you to also watch all
(12:23):
ten minutes of it. You know, let's take a break.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Hey, I'm a federal employee. This is week two. Of
the five things I did last week. Number one, I
used Clippy to help write my manifesto. Number two, I
got severed because I keep work at work. Number three
I microwave fish in the break room. Number four, I
enforced the dress code. I said, why aren't you wearing
a suit? And he was like, I'm the janitor. And
I said, well, you need to thank me because I'm
out here making all these messes causing your jobs to security.
(13:00):
And if you're so smart goodwill hunting, why don't you
figure out why the break room is always thinking so bad?
Speaker 2 (13:06):
I do want to ask your sort of humor lends
itself to a coastal thing. And yet you were you
were in Indiana where there are a lot of people.
It's mega country. That's just where I come from, this
mega country too, right, Yes, I go up there, And
what's it like being in Indiana? Must be like? Really
great and really weird all at the same time.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
I think about that too with other states too, because
as soon as you turn the election map on Indiana
turns red, it just turns red. But then there are
other people that are like me. So it's just because
fifty one percent of the state voted one way. And
then I when I go on the road and do
stand up, I have people come out and it'll be
(13:45):
in a Kentucky or in Iowa or the reddest of
red Arkansas, and I get people that come to see
me because they are like me in that state. It's
just because fifty one per the percent of the people
voted that there's other people, and it's always weird. When
you hear artists like I'm not going to that state
till so and so wins the election. I'm like, yeah,
(14:07):
that's your definitely your right. But also there are other
people that are like you that would enjoy what you do.
So people that are creators and stuff, I'm like, just
don't give up because there are people like that. And
I think videos like mine, I at least think help
people not feel alone because it's you can see all
day every day of the things you just said. Jerry
(14:29):
of Oh, they spun it two ways of the signal thing,
and they'll make you feel one way or the other.
But then once you see somebody else, I think talk rationally,
you're like, oh, there are people like me. And I
get people all the time that say you got me
through COVID or whatever, and I help me get through
COVID and likewise because we could laugh or cry about things,
you know. So to answer your question about what it's
(14:51):
like to live in Indiana, and I'm on the road
every week in different states, Indiana is everywhere like leading
up to the election, and I was like, man, there
are so many Trump flags everywhere and places you wouldn't
even imagine would be there, and especially one of my
(15:11):
favorite was in Pennsylvania where somebody had just took their
twenty twenty flag and added a four at the end
of it. I love that kind of stuff. But it's
just a blue dot in a red state. And there's
no shortage of guys with the biggest trucks imaginable with
the flags. And I don't know how it's not against
the law to be that flagged up and just in
(15:34):
the view of everybody. But even in Saint Louis, there was.
I took a picture of it the back somebody's tailgate
of their truck. When when Joe Brandon stole the election
and it was Joe Biden tied up in the back
of the truck with a gag like that was in
Saint Louis, and I'm like, God, it's like when you
(15:56):
see a car with a bunch of weed stickers on it,
You're like, you're just kind of asking for some kind
of trouble, and you also don't care. You're proud of that.
You spent like one thousand dollars to get that on
the back of your truck. So it's everywhere, and we
saw it in this past election when so many states
were flipped.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, it's true. I really frustrating when you see online
someone says saying we should let Texas leave this country.
There's a lot of people in Texas. There's sensible, nice,
normal that don't write off other Americans. Patriotism is like
loving your country even if you really dislike your government.
You know, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Most of those folks are like really nice, Right, you
move in, They'll bring your cookies. I don't want to
filify forty percent of the population. Most of these people
are like really nice, but there's something there that is ugly.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
There's a reason that the guy's president again, and it's
whether he was the president or not. That stuff still
exists that doesn't change hearts and minds. So that's the
real thing of seeing all the January sixth stuff and
everything that's transpired to the last eight years, and you're like, God,
you still don't care. And at a certain point you're like,
(17:05):
I just did it for the economy, okay, but there's
more at stake there than money. So well, yeah, I'm
a stand up comedian. What do you think my change
jar over there in the corner is I've had to
do laundry a few times, so it's not doing well.
(17:26):
But it's not surprising, but it is, and it's to
write off a whole the whole state of somewhere is.
But also at the same time, I'm like, I get it.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
I get it. It's frustration. So what is the real
brentter you? What's your non political comedy?
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Like, yeah, behind me on the video. I know there's
an audio platform, but I love horror movies. I do
a horror movie podcast and it's a niche thing. But
then Also it's like controlling. What is scary if I
know it's a movie, like a horror movie. To me,
is the news that's real and exists. So I do
(18:02):
the that podcast called the They're Coming to Get You
and you to remember it. It's like They're coming to
get you Barbara from a Night of the Living Dead.
And then the other I do another podcast called The
Field Trip. It's topic based. I call it like pop
culture Pope wri So every episode is different, and I've
done my assassinations and I chose three of that. I'm
(18:23):
probably you guys haven't covered, not the.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Big ones, the two of them.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
But I'm just saying, yeah, if you did Julius Caesar,
I'm impressed. E two John, it's top. It's famous last words,
famous last meals. I just did one on a sideshow performers.
But that's the kind of stuff is. I do my
research and then I talk about it with a guest.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
More of this after a quick break. So this is implausible,
and we do theories and conspiracies, and you're you've got
us now, so give us either a your favorite conspiracy.
(19:09):
You can ask us what's the yeah you want to
know about our conspiracies, the CIA ones.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
I have the one that I'm to talk about, but
one that I also want to bring up to you
guys because I was scrolling through your archive on the podcast.
Have you guys even talked about the Donald Trump assassination attempt?
Because seeing my friends online the let more left people
for years it was oh, you guys are nothing but
(19:34):
saying to the right, you guys are nothing but conspiracy theorists.
And as soon as that happened, man did this the
flip the switch flip of oh it was a fake,
it was an inside job or whatever. So do you
guys have thoughts on all that, because I'm interested to
hear your take on what that was.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
That's a great topic and we should do it because
you're exactly right. Immediately, people on the left did exactly
what they complained to the people and the right to and
we didn't do it because, and I think I speak
for Jerry is immediately, I would never suggest that was
fake to try to I mean, to try to hit
someone in the ear far away, even the simplest of things,
(20:11):
like it's almost impossible. The one thing about having worked
in CIA, and we talk about this on the podcast
and having been involved in trying to maybe fool the
other side or create conspiracies, if you will, however you
wanted to find is we realized just how hard it is.
There's so many moving parts in everything that happens in
the world, and to control that is crazy. You might
(20:33):
be able to control one or two factors, and if
you simplify it enough, you can maybe fool somebody on something,
but the notion that you could do this incredibly complex
thing that all holds together and nobody ever talks is
just insane. So immediately when people said that, it's just like,
there's no this is ridiculous. There's just.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
We're really good at assassination. A great track. I could
look at Don Castro right, you know, I was like, uh,
that's right, and of course we got that took us
ten years. The real world is complicated. And for anybody
who's ever and I grew up around firearms, I hate guns.
But I'll tell you anybody who's ever dealt with a weapon,
if they're talking about, yeah, I'm gonna put a bullet
(21:13):
right by your ear, that sounds like people went to
high school with you. Put a beer can on your
head and put it'll be a big beer can and
I'll take my ear right. Don't worry about it.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Just yesterday, guys, I listened to JFK episode and the
guy was like, Oh, that was an easy shot. He
could have done it. So what is it, Guys?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I need answers when you're on the inside, when you're
not in government, we're not part of the deep state.
You We do deal often, John and I did when
we were seniors in the agency with senior political guys.
And you know what, there's messed up and silly and
foolish as anybody else. If somebody thinks there's like this
special level of competence in any white house, like they
(21:55):
are no different than the rest of us, and they
fuck up and hold.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
On now, hold on, I'm going to take this the
next step. Okay, we just saw the screenshots of them.
They were knocking down apartment buildings to kill terrorists and
admitted that they killed people in the apartment. Jerry, you
and I were involved in lethal efforts to go after
a specific terrorists, and you saw the amount of work
to make sure you're the right person, one person that
(22:19):
no one else was hit. And when that's done, it's
done with such seriousness. There is no that communications line,
there's no joking. It's all very careful. To see these
guys like towel snapping each other and doing emojis and
fist bumps. That is just inappropriate for any national security person.
These guys are first of all, they're all unfit. They
(22:41):
shouldn't be inop positions for the first place. But if
you're going to do national security, you need to take
it seriously. I found that incredibly distasteful, and then lying
about it. They were cutting and pasting from clearly something
that was classified and then telling us that it was
all not classified. So it really so. Yes, I've seen
serious pep and serious positions not be as impressive as
(23:02):
you think, but this to me was really beyond the pass.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
This is a league of its own, and this is serious.
But I really want to underline this to anybody. Listen,
Like I was in a rock back when Isis took
over and we were struggling to keeping keeping Isis from
taking over the country and introducing slavery again and introducing
rape is being legal. These are like really bad guys. Yeah,
And when there was I just say carefully, I say this,
(23:28):
when there was a strike that killed a senior isis guy.
You know where I was, there was a standing rule.
There's no cheers. Like what we have done was not good.
It was just less bad because it was about saving lives.
That's what you should be focused on, never taking. That's
(23:50):
what separates us from them, is right. We take no
one of the jures anyway, you take that. Yeah, no pleasure,
no joy even in that. It's this is because the
problem is if we don't, other innocent people will die.
It is a serious, terrible sort of decision making for
curR And yeah, you're right, John. The high fiving and
(24:11):
cheering is inhuman in a lot of words, in many ways.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Yeah, it's guys, you're just not fun. Can we decide
to go to a better question? See it's not entertain.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
We'll try again, try again.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
Your answers were good, but it's not what people want
to hear of. Now. The other one that I've enjoyed
watching and enjoy is the wrong word, but it's been
the whole Quanon thing because I could see the same
stuff I think that they were seeing. I can go
on the four Chans and the eight Chans and the
(24:49):
whatever chans and see the posts and then also, just
a neighborhood over from me, I could ride my bike past.
The house had QAnon pillows on the porch and then
the QAnon flags. The whole porch was QAnon. Now it's not.
(25:10):
Now it's just American flags. So thank god for that, guys.
But it's I've seen the I would, oh, I should
find I'm gonna get this free and show you guys.
These were on telephone poles. I just thought of this.
These were from info Wars. These signs it says.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Collapse is coming, prepare yourself and that.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
So you see the info Wars that was on a
telephone pole by my house. This is laminated to last,
and then this one the mass do nothing. They are
for control the Info Wars logo at the top right
there too. I saw some I saw these are my neighbors,
somewhere in the vicinity of where I live. And I
(26:00):
love conspiracy theory stuff so much. I pulled the car
over to take these down. These exist in.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
My What control does asking you wear a mask gets you?
I don't quite get.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
It, I know, but yeah, that's like my big thing
with not necessarily Quanon, but like the flat Earth or
the fake the moon landing and all this, Like, if
all that is fake, My my question is to what
end to show that the government lies to you? And I, yeah,
the government does lie to us. You guys worked for
the government, and I think you would probably agree that
(26:33):
there are lies that have been told. So that's that
we all know that. So my thing is after the
control and lie thing. Is it just money? Who's selling
a lot of flat globes? Or like round? Is there
a guy with a warehouse full of globes? Like, as
soon as we get rid of all these and I'll
just tell them it's flat. Like to what end are
(26:53):
some of these conspiracies? Is the moon landing was fake? Okay,
let's say it was? Or if we found out who
actually did it, what are we going to do about it? Now?
You can't. We all know we're being lied to. But
at a certain point there are people starving and dying
right now. I just don't know what end a lot
(27:13):
of this stuff has.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
It's all a lot of times it's just about people themselves.
They want attention. The world just needs to be centered
around them and what they feel, their feelings. You're right,
I can at least understand if you do a conspiracy
to make money. It feels like it's gross and disgusting,
but at least it seems to have some logical consistency.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Fox and News makes they sell beers, snow tires, ed medicine.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
I got, We sell that on our podcast, So I'm
pretty confident that that's to go past those But.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
What the ED stuff, guys, just hold on, talk to
me about the ED stuff for quick for a friend, right, yes,
but you can see, like Alex Jones will say the
water's dirty and then also flip and be like, we've
got the water purefire. They're telling you that they're selling
you the cure of the thing that they just made
up and maybe it is a real problem. But they're
(28:02):
also selling you the super Ginka Boloba max pure that
will fix your ED. It works. By the way, just
so you guys know the.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Human brain as it evolved over the last five thousand years,
because it's that's how But yeah, but the amygdala at
the base of it, the reptilian part, is still really powerful.
It's the fight or flight, it's the fear thing, right,
And it wasn't until later that we got higher functions,
and so yeah, tapping into the amygdala response inside of
human beings is always something you can make people afraid.
(28:35):
Dictators have always done it, right. I mean, Hitler makes
people afraid of the Jews, afraid of the Bolsheviks, and
you got to make people afraid, and if you do
that gives you a political control the even our own country.
Hearst right. The Hearst Press started the Spanish American War
with supposedly the main song, which was Spanish why the
Spanish would sink the US's main and Havana Harbor. I
(28:56):
don't know. So angertainment can be monetized and it's a
that's a good word, political control, and we are biologically
programmed to have because surviving is you hear Russell in
the bushes? Do you go gee, I'm going to stand
here and figure it out and see whether it's a
sabertooth tigers. No, you run, because even if you're wrong,
like you're still alive. It's a powerful force.
Speaker 3 (29:19):
So what about QAN nine do you guys have to
say about that? I'm not up on my message boards currently,
but it seems like they were like just wait and
then nothing, you know, like right.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Well, Nancy Pelosi of course is going to stay forever
young and beautiful, because she's killing young children to get
their adrenal glands. I don't know if people should get
on there and take a look at what no offense Nancy.
But what Nancy looks like now, it's like the adrenaline
it's not working. She looks like an old lady. Right.
I mean, yeah, I'm using it. I'm clearly you're still
(29:52):
young and handsome business.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
I'm actually eighty seven.
Speaker 2 (29:55):
But the other one, of course, is CIA and Ands
and I keep waiting, like, let's okay, Trump's president. Now
you've got to own these conspiracy theories. Right, he's Trump's
gonna come in. He's going to expose the ped of files.
He's gonna show us the aliens, the JFK stuff. Maybe
not the Epstein files. Maybe they may stay under lock
and key.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
But if you've seen recently, it's the Fort Knox thing.
He's actually feeling. He's still a TV dude. He said,
we're gonna we don't know if it's there, We're gonna
go down there and show it. Like you're the president.
I say, you can send somebody there. You could be there.
You can answer this in two seconds. He said, you're
going to play it up like.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
It's with aliens. Is very interesting because Trey Crowder on
his episode said, yeah, he believes in mathematically, I think
it's to rule it out to say no is dumb.
But also then you talk about are we talking about
micro organisms? Is that an alien? Are we talking about
guys that fly the spaceships? That's the I think there are.
(30:50):
To say there's no other life in anywhere is short sighted,
But aliens are fun to me. All of this stuff
that we've talked about is is fun as whether you
subscribe to it you know, and how much of you
know if you.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Have to tear it with you arm yourself because of it.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
Yeah, like when you find out that it's wrong, if
you have to take off more than a bumper sticker,
then maybe you've gone into deep with it. Like, all
of it is fun and it's entertaining. And that's why
I've always loved conspiracy theories because they're kind of.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Scary conspiracies because it's entertaining or interesting, or you're asking
questions like could there be aliens? Let's take this to
see how far it goes? What could it be? What
can is different from weaponizing or getting financial benefit out
of conspiracy theories. And what I think your humor hits
on a lot of times is with the political class
(31:44):
using this stuff to get people angry, to spin people up,
to get people out to vote. And a lot of
this was in twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen with Cambridge Analytical.
They actually work specifically, this is Bannon and his company
works specifically to use Facebook data to find people who
who never voted. The people who were just were the
angry people, and they spun it up and created such
(32:06):
anger to actually get them off their couches to go vote.
And they essentially created a class of very angry, very
right wing people that now is called the base, and
some of them, it's a small enough segment that it
helps on elections, right one or two percent of crazy people.
Speaker 3 (32:21):
That's got a difference, though anymore, I want.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
You to see it now, like when you get to
the point where you will use conspiracies knowing that someone's
going to get hurt, knowing that someone's going to attack
the capital, knowing they're going to that's to me, that's
a whole different thing.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
I had a friend and we were coming back from
a comedy festival and he's wearing the badge, and the
gas station tenant was like, oh, what is that for,
andings that we've just had a comedy festival, and the
guy literally said, oh, comedy's not been funny since Trump won,
which means all the Trump jokes, he doesn't care for it.
It's you could. I think you should. Like I said
at the beginning, we should be punching up no matter
(32:56):
who is in charge, because they are in charge and
we are not, so they are more open to scrutiny.
And also it's more fun to laugh. Who doesn't want
to laugh? It makes you feel better and it makes
you It makes us. We have more in common than
we have not and it shows that we are not alone.
There's truth and humor, So when you laugh at something,
(33:18):
you are admitting that there's truth to what I just said.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Oh, Bret, thank you so much for taking the time
with us and being on with us.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
And you're great. It's really been fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Well, we'll continue to follow you, and I would encourage
anybody listening to us to follow Brent to human on
all sorts of social media.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Yeah, thank you, guys.
Speaker 6 (33:34):
Mission Implausible is produced by Adam Davidson Jerry O'shay, John Cipher,
and Jonathan Stern. The associate producer is Rachel Harner. Mission implausible.
It's a production of honorable mention and abominable pictures for
iHeart podcasts
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Oh
Hosts And Creators
Adam Davidson
John Sipher
Jerry O'Shea
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